


Phil's Little Friends

by Hollenka99



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Found Family, Friendship, Gen, References to The Borrowers, borrower au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-15 22:27:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28571499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hollenka99/pseuds/Hollenka99
Summary: Phil settles down in the forest to raise his son but meets two friends who have also moved in.
Relationships: Alexis | Quackity & Phil Watson, Alexis | Quackity & Wilbur Soot, TommyInnit & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Wilbur Soot & Phil Watson
Comments: 6
Kudos: 117





	Phil's Little Friends

Phil resolves to build a house as soon as he learns of his impending fatherhood. As much as the two of them wished to keep exploring the world, neither wanted to do so if a child was at risk of their safety being endangered. Besides, it wouldn't be a bad idea to have a solid base for once instead of setting up camp against the walls of caves and other less than desirable places. They're able to construct a decent structure in their limited timeframe. As winter comes, it nicely aligns with the final trimester, allowing Louise to prioritising keeping warm whilst Phil undertakes more of her share of the hard work.

Spring is underway when they welcome their son. They name him Tommy and he has undeniably inherited his father's hair. As he learns to walk, it can be said he has also been passed down his parents' adventurous nature. Watching the little boy explore the area by their home with such curiosity makes temporarily giving up his old lifestyle worth it and more.

It would seem Louise disagrees as she leaves when he is 2 years old. Phil saw it coming, of course. She had been 'going out for a walk' at a rate that had gradually increased since Tommy was a baby. The 'walks' had been steadily getting longer as well. He didn't mind her going off to collect supplies. All he wanted from her was honesty. But fine, if she wants to go, he knows he can't stop her. He'll be here, raising their son on his own.

It is apparently her plan to visit roughly once a year. Well, if she really must... At least Tommy grows up with the same attitude to it as his father has.

The boy is four when Phil catches the tiny pair red handed. Late one night, he hears the clatter of cutlery with no conceivable reason for that sound to be made. Tommy was asleep and even if he'd snuck downstairs for water or something like that, he wouldn't have any need for cutlery. So Phil decides it is in his family's best interest to grab his sword and confront the intruder. To his surprise, he finds none.

Instead, the scene before him displays a man, no bigger than Phil's hand, dressed like Tommy's toy soldier whose clothes mysteriously vanished the previous autumn. This mini soldier had somehow fallen into the drawer amongst all the knives, forks and spoons. His friend, a man of a similar size with black hair, holds a dessert fork as if it is meant to pose a threat to Phil. The worst thing it could do was probably deliver four inconsequential puncture wounds that would soon heal. Although, given the 'weapon' practically matched the duo in height, Phil supposes it could perform far more serious damage to one of them. A carrot lays on the counter top, as well as some string.

After rescuing the clothes thief and placating them both, Phil learns their names are Wilbur and Quackity respectively. Their people are known as Borrowers and these two had been living by the storage room since Tommy was a baby. The three of them debate the semantics of 'borrowing' as they seemed to maintain very different views on it. Quackity argued it was only stealing when the parties involved were of the same species while Phil was of the opinion that borrowing meant explicit permission had been granted beforehand, regardless of anyone's stature. Either way, they come to an agreement that the pair of Borrowers could help themselves to anything in the house within reason.

It is while his young son is playing in the field by the house that he gets the opportunity to have a lengthy conversation with the duo. He learns they once lived in a house at the base of the mountain on the other side of the forest. Unfortunately, a fire had started and the wooden building hadn't stood much of a chance. Separated from their families, they had been lingering in the forest for years before discovering Phil's construction efforts. Their unusual surnames of Soot and Bookshelf are explained as it being common in their culture to have your family name correspond with where in the house you live. Wilbur had been born a Furnace but too many encounters with his namesake to negate the effects of their mountainous home had earned him a nickname he's since reclaimed as his own.

The more he befriends them, the more he learns. Both were protective of the other, having known each other since childhood, although Quackity was certainly the one to threaten while Wilbur preferred to defend. As such, Wilbur tended to be the quieter one. That didn't mean he wasn't entirely down for joining his friend in mischief. 

As the years pass, Phil adds contraptions around the house to make travelling easier. There are small ladders, pieces of string for abseiling and ziplining as well as lone foodstuffs that have been brought closer to countertops to make them more accessible. He slowly begins to master the art of sewing for greatly scaled down projects and preparing the odd meal with reduced portion sizes. Tommy is raised on the story that a small neutral mob lived in the house but became invisible upon sight.

When Tommy is 16, they have a difficult discussion. His son had met a man known as Dream while heading home from a mining trip. This Dream had invited him to visit his town a fair distance away for a while. Even after speaking to the stranger himself, Phil wasn't entirely convinced he was happy to let Tommy leave with him. His son proves to him it's not in his hands in the end. The kid heads off with Dream regardless of his father's approval.

Months later, Phil returns from an expedition, only to find his son back home. The teenager seems distant somewhat. Something is clearly wrong but it's not like Phil can simply ask him about it. The subject of Dream is obviously a touchy one. Any attempt he makes to approach it so he can potentially help his son is met with hostility.

He resigns himself to preparing something with his newly collected berries. He didn't head off to a taiga biome for nothing, after all. In the corner of his eye, he senses movement.

"Wilbur, Quackity, are you guys here?"  
"Hi, Phil!" Chimes a small man in a yellow jumper. "Tommy's home!"  
"Yeah, I know. He hasn't spotted you, right?"  
"No but he seems sad."  
A sigh. "You can say that again."

He invites Wilbur onto his shoulder, warning him to hide behind his head as they open the door to Tommy's bedroom. The 16 year old is fast asleep on top of his covers.

"I'm sorry you have to go back to hiding. I really should just introduce the two of you to him but it seems now's just... a really bad time. Maybe soon though. We'll have to see how long this Dream problem takes to resolve. For now, be careful and stay out of sight whenever he's in the house."  
"Got it. And we don't mind. It's nice to have him back."  
"It is." Phil smiles. "Come on, let's bake him something good. I hope the two of you haven't scoffed all my berries yet."


End file.
